Despite many companies waiting to bring employees back into the office, workers are becoming increasingly eager to get out of their homes. A survey from JLL company Big Red Rooster revealed that 94% of employees want the option to come back to the office and would prefer a hybrid of both remote and in-office work arrangements.
Now, operators are reconsidering how to continue to save money on office space, while offering employees a place to work when they need it. That is where the hub-and-spoke model comes in.
For instance, companies like Deloitte, KPMG and the Bank of Montreal are experimenting with their own hub-and-spoke model that allows them to keep a central office in the center of a city, while also adopting several other workspaces in suburban areas.
“What I’m hearing about hub and spoke is bigger companies offering drive-to destinations for office opportunities for people to gather without having to get on mass transit,” said Byron Carlock, real estate leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers. “We were already beginning to see an uptick in suburban leasing, mostly for cost reasons, but now we’re also seeing it for access reasons.”
Adam Segal, cofounder of office management software company Cove, has been aiding businesses in reducing their unused office space. The firm worked with global nonprofit Search for Common Good, analyzed its office usage and guided it to a hub-and-spoke approach that helped cut its space by 75%.
Using this approach, companies are able to continue taking advantage of cost-cutting measures, while providing a fully outfitted workplace for employees.